Manhole-closure.



-O.G.PUFFER.

. MANHOLE CLOSURE; A'PPLIGATION FILED JAN. 2a, 1905.

Patented Nov. 9, 1909.

2 SHEETS-QEEET 1'.

witneooao @QEMW *rmmw c. GQPUFFER.

MANHOLE CLOSURE. APPLIOATION FILED JAN. 23, 1905.

Patented Nbv.9,1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

mvenfoz Wilmaow UNITEDSTATES" PA -reunion.

ensures o.' rurrnn, or 300mm,- NEW YORK, nssrenon'zro THE PFAUDLER 010 PANY, or nocrmsrnn, NEW roux, A conronncrron or NEW'YORK.

.- naunonn-cnosunn;

, Closures; and I do hereby declare the fol-.

lowing to be a full, clean-and exact descri 'it is being hand fastened and swim" manhole closure and line 4+4: of Figrlr tion 'ofthe same, reference bcinghad to t e accompanying drawings, formin a part of this specification, and to the re erence-numerals marked thereon.

My present invention relates to improvements in manhole closures, and it relates more-particularly, to that. class of' devices such as are employed for coverin the man-- hole or similar openings in tan s, boilers and other closed, vessels, and it is the pur pose of my invention toprovide devices for supporting: the closure so-that it may, be

moved into'a'nd out: of operative posltion relatively to the manhole without the necessity of exercismg particular care in positiomng the closure, and which-precludes the possibllity of damagevto the interior of the 25 vessel by the dro mg of the closurewhile 125, a device of this char acter being particularly desirable for use in connection with tanks or vessels which are provided with an interior lining of enamel or other" frangible material.

To these and other ends the invention 001 sists in certain improvements and combinations of parts all as will be hereinafter more fully=described, the novel features being pointed out in theclaim at the end of the specification. 1 u

In-the drawings: Figure :1 is a fragmentary view of a vessel to which a manhole closure embodying my invention is shown applied. Fig. 2'is a sectional-view through the walls ofa vessel adjacent to the manhole therein showing the manhole. closure uninto open position; Fig. 3 is a view simi ar.to Fig.: 2= showing the manhole closure in fastenedv position, and Fig. 4t is a sectional view through the adjacent parts on the The same reference numerals -'dcsig11ute similar parts in the several views. a q

In us ng casks or vessels ot largo. capacities such as are commonly employed in the Processes-of manufacturing beer and other iquids, it frequently: becomcs' necessary to Application Med anuary as, 190;. rennin. 242,299.

- damag c osure is mounted which ping of the closure when 1t i specification-of Letters Patent. a Pat fifed Nov; 9, 19()9 obtain access to the interior thereof for] the purpose of cleansing or removingvother de-' os1ts and as these casks or vessels are 7.

usuall provided with an interior lining of 5 ename or other frangiblesubstances which are liable to'become actured or otherwise ed, when brought into contact with metal 10 or other hardbodies, it has been found necessary to avoid, the liability of droppin the manhole closure upon the lining' of t e vessel while it is being removed, or otherwise handled, and the. device which I employ in the; resent uinstance embodies enerally a hinge, carrier upon qv'vhichitl-ieprevents the dropis-removcd from the manhole and-wlnchrmsures ts pro r positioning when it is moved into operative position to close thelnmnhole,

In the resent embodiment of my invention l'deslgnates a hollow vessel, which in the present instance, is providedwith a convex or-spherical head 2 which isprovided with a manhole 3-. To the ofthe manhole 3 is secured a hingemember 4 which is provided "with. a ivot pin 5 upon which ishinged the carrier 6. This carrier is provided; with .an elbow 7 which is located at a suflicieut distance from .the

head 2 at one side i pivot 5 to enable the free cnd of the car- 4 rier to be swung into the vessel through the manhole .3, a seat 8 being provided on that portion of the carrier betweenthe elbow 7 and the pivot which is formed to engage the adjacent exterior surface of the vessel, and thereby act as a stop 'to limit the motion of the hinged carrier 6, and this will prevent those parts which are mounted on the carrier from striking, upon the interior Walls of the vesselwhen themanhole is swung inwardly.

ed portion substantially parallel lo'th'e plane of motion ()n thefree end of the'hinged carrier, areprovided-the bearing knucklcsll and 10 respectively which-are carried u on the uppeer and lower, arms of the ft -11. At either-side of these bearings l) and 100f the hinged carrier are adapted to lit theibearin s12 and 13 respectively of the manholecosure 14, pins 15 and '16 being of the said carrier. This closure may be constructed in the usual way and provided with the reinforcing ribs 17 to resist pressure and other strains to Whichthe closures Y vided on the closure at the inner edge of the gasket and arranged to enter the manhole to retain the closure properly cent-ered'therein. This gasket 19 ,is provided with an overhanging flange l9 which projects outwardly beyond the channel 18 of the closure and extends either to or slightly beyond the adjacent peripheral edge of the closure' This is an advantageous, construction when used in connection with tanks or vessels which are to contain liquids which are subjected to fermentation or other processes, for it will be obvious that when the closure 14; is secured in position over the manhole, the' bodyportion of the gasket is of sufficient depth or thickness to insure a firm seating of the gasket against the adjacent walls of the vessel, and the overhanging flange 19* will b'e'tightly compressed between the peripheral edge of the closure and the adj aoent wall of the vessel, and this will prevent deposits from lodgingwithin the joint.

' Secured to the closure 14 and extending laterally therefrom is the usual securing on fastening bolt 21 which, passes loosely throughthe securing yoke 22 so as to enable the latter to be rotated thereon. This yoke 22 may be formed in the usual way, the seats which are formed on the ends thereof being sufiiciently spaced as to span the manhole preferably at its narrowest diameter, bearing upon the adjacent walls of the vessel to draw the closure 14 firmly against the opposite walls of the vessel .wlien'the nut 24:, which cooperates with the bolt 21, is tightened, the parts occupying the relative positions shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 4 of the drawings when the closure in its secured position.

When it is desirable to unfaswntherlosure and uncover the manhole, the nut'24 is unscrewed on the bolt 21*ftorelieve the pressure from the, yoke 22, and :vvhen this pressure has been sufficiently releasedptlb yoke 22 maybe swung around on fthe bolt 21] into approximately axial alinemcnt with the longest diameter of the manhole, and this will permit the said yoke to pass freely 3. ahrough the manhole as the hinged carrier 6 rotated abont its pivot 5. In order to )QI'lfilll the closure to swm through a sufcieni angle. to permit a equate access to the interior or the vessel through the manhole, I locate the pivot 5 at a point beyond or removed from the adjacent ed e of the manhole, and by providing the el ow 7 in the hinged carrier 6, it will be obvious that the manhole closure may swing through a considerable angle before it is arrested by the stop 8, and this may occur without liability of the adjacent edge of the closure from striking the wall of the vessel opposite tion' y the use of the hinged carrier, it will be obvious that a device of this kind is particularly useful when used in connection with vessels, the linings or other parts of which are liable to become damaged by the striking or dropping of the closure or other parts.

Inmounting the closure upon the tank or vessel upon which it is-vto be employed, it'

is preferable to place the hin ed carrier 6 so that it will operate in su'stantially a horizontal plane, and as it ispreferable to provide a pivotal connection between the hinged carrier and the closure 14 in order that the asket 19 may accurately seat itself around t e manhole, it is advanta cons to so arrange the pivotal connection etween this carrier and the closure so that the latter may also swing in substantially a horizontal plane, and by so arran ing the pivots it will be obvious that it will be unnecessary to lift any of the parts which are usually massive, while they are being moved into or out of operative position, and as the yoke 22 is pivotally mounted on the bolt 21 it will be obvious that it may be handled with ease during the operation of fastening and unfastening the closure, and there is no possibility 0 any ofthe parts dropping from the carrier. Moreover, by mounting the carrier and its connected parts all on the exterior of the vessel, they are not exposed to the liquid contained by the vessel as would be the case should they be inclosed within the vessel, and this arrangement is essential in tanks and other apparatus used in the processes of manufacturing and otherwise treating beer and similar liquids, as deposits cannotfind lodgment in these parts which are liable to decompose and thereby contaminate or otherwise deleteriously affect the liquid under treatment, and in addition to this, by arranging the hinged carrier and IiLSCOhPGIa-UD parts all on the exterior of the vessel an arranging the closure so as to swing inwardly, the interior of the vessel will be entirely free of obstructions and is tageous when a lining of enamel or other frangible material is employed.

I claim as my invention: 4

In a manhole closure for tanks or sim-ila vessels, the combination, with a wall having an aperture, a cover therefor adapted to fit the inner surface of the wall havmg an an-' vided with a fianged edge projecting laterally beyond the edge of the cover, of an arm hinged to the exteriorface of the wall and .ter embracing said beari having a bifurcated extremity extending to the center of the cover and forming two separated bearing portions, lugs on the lat- Y s and hinge ins uniting them, an outward y projecting olt on the cover located between the bearings and a yoke mounted thereon and adapted to engage the outer face of thewall. nular peripheral groove in its outer face and a gasket lying in said groove and pr'o- CHARLES C. PUFFER.

Witnesses:

; CLARENCE A. BATEMAN, WALTER B. PAYNE. 

